Tenacity
by KittyMarks
Summary: He wasn't strong or fast or smart but he had a goal that he had to reach. He had made a promise to his sister and no SO-Class idiots were going to make him break it. He'd bring her back, with or without their help.


**A/N: **I loved the manga Zombie Powder, I really did and I was heartbroken to discover at the end of volume four that I would never again see another chapter or find out what trouble Gamma and Co. managed to get up to. So, I started looking up fanfiction on this site and found a few, some good, some bad and some just plain weird. In the end I decided to write my own and here it is. I hope you all enjoy and constructive critisim and comments is welcome.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Zombie Power or any of the Characters, I'm just like messing around with them XD

**Warnings:** End of series spoilers and swearing.

_**Tenacity**_

_**Chapter one: Abandonment Issues.**_

_**By KittyMarks**_

To say Elwood was pissed would be an understatement. The black haired teen growled and narrowed his eyes at the wall as if he could bore a hole through it with his gaze alone, he gently turned a ring over and over in his gloved hands, his fingers twitching every few seconds as anger coursed through him.

They had left him. They had fucking left him!

**::Flashback::**

He had gone to sleep after watching Gamma stand by that grave, understanding that it was not his place to butt in and deciding to give his partner some space. It had taken him ages to actually fall asleep, being in such a strange place surrounded by even stranger people made him an teensy bit paranoid and, after reasuring himself for the eight time that his knife was still under his pillow Elwood had closed his eyes and let his mind wander until eventually he fell asleep.

He had fallen asleep in a room filled with three thin foldable cots and woken to find that his was the only one in the room and all Gammas and Smiths clothes and equipment had been cleared out. Elwood had then ran off in search of Wolfina who was keeping vigil outside the operating room looking like she could use a few good hours sleep, she had bags under her eyes and kept nodding off before jerking awake with a shake of her head.

"Where are they?" he asked anxiously and Wolfina had blinked slowly and mumbled "Where're who?" her lips stumbling over the words as her eyelids drooped. "Gamma and Smith! They're stuff isn't in the room." The big breasted woman shook her head fiercely as if to banish the lethargy that clung to her, her russet coloured hair, let down from its customery ponytail swung across her face as she stood shakily. "You mean they're gone?" she said sounding both surprised and worried as she looked between Elwood and the door to the operating room.

"Have they finished?" he had asked nodding at the door and Wolfina shook her head again, slower this time and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Not yet. I haven't been allowed in." she muttered. Both of their heads whipped up as a short blonde girl skipped down the corridor, she paused when she saw the two and an annoyed expression passed over her delicate features.

"You two? Ugh, I guess you're all I have to entertain me now that my dear Gammas gone." Angelle crooned sadly, clasping her dainty hands and looking balefully up at the ceiling as though Gammas face was etched onto it. "W-wait! They left! Where did they go?" Elwood yelled looking upset as the girl shrugged and flicked her blonde hair over her shoulders. "How should _I_ know? Aren't you their _parnter?_ Why didn't they tell you?" she retorted eyeing Wolfinas chest with a bit of envy before huffing and skipping past them, humming under her breath.

Elwood sank to his knees and leaned his head against the wall. "T-they left me....?" he sounded so small that Wolfina quickly wrapped her arms around him and pulled the teen into a hug, comforting him like she used to her own brother. "H-how will I bring my sister back now?" he asked and the busty brunette didn't know how to answer so she just hugged him tighter, knowing that he was feeling the same as she had back when Emilios illness was undiagnosed and without a cure, how she had felt when she wondered how in the world she was going to save her sibling from the harm she had caused. 

"Thats easy." A bored voice came from beside them, the duo looked up to see Nazna standing with her hands on her hips, the doors to the operating room wide open. "Become a hunter and get the rings yourself. You already have one." she said as Elwood stared back at her dumbly. Become a hunter himself? That would mean he'd have to fight Gamma and Smith and _win_. Impossible...

"Wait? I have one...?" he asked and Nazna smirked at him and held up a delicate silver ring with a single heart-shaped blood red gem embedded in the metal.

"Catch." she tossed it to him and Elwood panicked, he couldn't let the ring touch his skin. With a startled yelp the teen tore off his shirt sleeve and caught the ring in the worn fabric. The ring was strangely hot through the material and he made sure that it was wrapped up securely. "Why are you giving this to me?" he asked and Nazna rolled her eyes. "It belongs to Wolfina and I'm sure she doesn't want anything to do with it now. By the way-" the black haired woman looked at Wolfina and jerked her head towards the now open room. "-you can go in there now, he's asleep but he'll wake up in a few hours."

Elwood stayed kneeling on the ground as Wolfina jumped to her feet and ran into the operating room where he brother was lying on the hospital bed. Emilio looked exactly the same as he had before the ring was removed and if it wasn't for the small cross shaped scar on his forehead she would have doubted that a surgery even took place. Wolfina heared someone gasping loudly and with a start she realised it was herself that was making the noise, tears streamed slowly from her eyes as she flung her amrs across the prone body of her sibling and sobbed in relief.

"Oh thank god...." the green eyed woman muttered between sobs. "Oh, thank goodness."

Elwood tilted his head forward so that his bangs over shadowed his eyes, idily he noted that his fringe was getting a bit long and debated whether or not to cut it in the back of his mind, the rest of his brain was preocupied with thinking about the pros and cons of becoming a ring hunter without Gamma and Smith. With an angry growl the blue eyed teen stood up, swaying slightly from the sudden vertigo and then he turned around and stalked back to his room without a glance at Wolfina or the still smirking Nazna.

**::End Flashback::**

And here he was, sitting in his room and brooding.

No, brooding was too emo a word and Elwood was anything but emo so... he was thinking deeply. Yeah, he was thinking deeply about what the hell he was going to do, the good points and bad points buzzed in his head like a cloud of angry locusts.

Pro: We get the rings and bring our sister back to life and gain immortality.

Con: We will die!

Pro: We _might _die, there's a difference. Plus, we already have one ring and know where two others are, I'm sure if we offered something in return then Nazna would point us

in the right direction.

Con: Nazna scares the shit out of us.

Pro: Shes not that ba-

Con: She is fucking scary!

Pro: Okay she terrifies us but what else can we do?

Con: Simple, not become a hunter! Plus we'd have to not only fight both Gamma and Smith but _win_ that fight.

Pro:....

Con (Rather smug): I though so.

Elwood groaned and put his head in his hands, he couldn't abandon his sister but there was no way in hell that he could beat Gamma _or_ Smith, let alone _both_. He guessed that he could steal the rings but Gamma'd notice really quickly when he no longer felt the pulse of the rings and Elwood had no way to out run-them or out-fight them. Already Elwood know that he would never forget the warm humming of the ring in his hands and that he would know instantly when it left his side.

He would probably have to get Gamma really, _really_ drunk so that he wouldn't notice that the rings were gone for a while...actually, that might just work. Despite being superhumanly strong Gamma had a very low alcohol tolerance, he started to slur his words after around two or three drinks and was near unconscious after four. Elwood had seen him almost make out with the bartender in one of the bars they had stopped in to get information on the rings of the dead. One of the _male _bartenders.

Luckliy Smith had been there and had dragged Gamma away before he could humiliate himself further, by further he meant that the smartly dressed man had sat back and allowed Gamma to dance and flirt and make a fool of himself for a few hours before deciding that he'd gotton enough entertainment (and blackmail) and that it was time to stop and go back to the hotel.

Elwood looked down at the ring in his hands and bit his lip, while fighting Gamma and Smith was a big issue it wasn't the main one, he'd go get their rings _after_ he'd collected the other nine. So far he had only survived because he'd had Gamma to back him up, in every situation except for that fight with the fire eater he'd been saved by either Gamma or Smith and now that they were gone he would have to learn how to fight better and survive on his own.

Knives were the only thing he could wield effectively, swords were too big and heavy for his small frame and guns felt awkward with none of the grace or fitness that came with small, sharp blades. Maybe he could search up different poisons? If he was careful and coated the tips of his knives in them then he might be able to incapacitate enemys quicker. After all, who would even bother dodging a thin kinfe that would at worst, skim their leg? Who would think that a tiny cut could become deadly?

He was warming to the idea of poison -the non-lethal type. He didn't really want to kill anyone, just knock them out so that he could get the rings and escape. Killing was always a last resort, he hadn't had to end a life yet and he wasn't about to start just because he was on his own.

A lump formed in Elwoods throat, he was on his own now, he was going to have to go out on his own. Wolfina couldn't leave with him because she had agreed to be an experiment for a year in order for Emilio to be saved. This would be the first time he would be on his own in his entire life, he'd always had his parents and when they died he'd had his sister and when she'd been killed he'd had Gamma. And now Gamma was gone and he had no-one.

Maybe, maybe he could stay here for a year with Wolfina and Emilio and train, he didn't have much money and pickpockting was always used as a last resort, despite how awesome he was at it. His ego gave him a thumbs up and Elwood found himself smiling softly into the darkness of his room as his resolve hardened, yes, he's ask Nazna to let him stay here for a year with Wolfina and her brother and then he could set out with them back to their hometown and then start searching on his own.

He exhaled loudly and ran his hands through his hair, it really was getting longer but he decided against cutting it for the moment, he had gained a tiny bit of recognition from traveling around with Gamma and would probably need to disguise himself if he were to search for the rings seperately, he didn't want to be noticed in every village or town he went to as a ring hunter, that only brought about fights, fights that he mightn't be able to win.

A timid knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts and Elwood stood to let the person in. Wolfina was standing outside the door, mixed concern and overwhelming happiness on her face, the black haired teen gave her a small smile and opened his mouth to speak at the exact same time as she did.

"Elwood can I-"

"Wolfina may I-"

They looked at each other for a long moment and the burst out laughing, all the built up tension in both of them melted away as their laughs faded to chuckles and then to silence. "Elwood, will you wait with me until Emilio wakes up? Miss Nazna said that he would wake up soon and I don't really want to be alone." she smiled a little sheepishly and Elwood grinned, pushing throughts of rings and Gamma to the back of his mind, friends came first.

"Sure, lets go." he said stepping out of his room and walking a few steps ahead of Wolfina who quickly caught up and gave him a big hug, pushing his face against her boobs and Elwood struggled to breath. "Wolf-mph...canna...breph (Wolfina....I cannot.... breath)" The brunette laughed and pulled him down the corridor and into a small room at the end. "He was moved from the operating room to here." Wolfina explained, taking a seat beside her brothers bed.

Elwood sat oposite her on the other side of Emilio and cleared his throat."Um, I was thinking of staying here until you get to leave." he mumbled and Wolfina had a knowing look in her eyes as she nodded. "You can leave with me an Emilio then." she said as she turned her attention to her sibling whos eyes were moving restlessly beneath their lids.

Seconds turned to minutes that turned to hours, neither of them broke the silence as they listened to Emilios deep breathing. Elwood felt his eyelids drifting closed just as the blond haired boy on the bed made a small disgruntled noise and shifted against the bedsheets, his face scrunched up and with a bewildered groan he opened his eyes, the same deep green as his sisters. "EMILIO!" Wolfina exclaimed and bundled the awakening teen into a crushing hug.

"S-sis? Whats going on?" the boy asked looking bemused as he looked absently hugged his older sister back, his arms moving sluggishly after being still for so long. "What do you remember?" Elwood asked and a look of concentration passed over Emilios face. "Um, I think... I was getting sis that ring from the tree and I fell, did I black out? Am I in a hospital?" the blond asked looking at the other boy. Wolfina didn't seem ready to answer as she reveled in her brothers awake-ness and buried her face against his collorbone.

"Not exactly... Um, Wolfina...?" he asked timidly and the brunette sighed against her brothers neck. "Emilio, you-you've been in a coma for eight years... th-the ring you picked up was one of the rings of the dead... Elwood has one with him, he can show you." she gestured to Elwood to show her brother the ring of the dead. He gave her a Are-You-Crazy look in return but complied when Wolfina glared at him.

"Here." he said plucking the ring out of his pocket, hands protected by the thick gloves he'd found in the end of his bag. Emilios green eyes widened as he saw the ring and he tentativly reached out for it. Elwood quickly stuffed it back in his pocket and gave Emilio a warning look, the older boy blinked in shock that quickly morphed into anger. "I recognise that ring! I found it! It belongs to me, I need to give it to sis!" he protested and stuck out his hands for Elwood to deposit the ring there.

The black haired boy frowned and stood up, he leaned against the wall and made sure that he was out of Emilios reach before shaking his head. "No, its mine. If you touch it you'll just go into another coma, weren't you listening to Wolfina a second ago?" Emilio paled and his head whipped around to stare at his sister. "That was true? I've been in a coma for eight years! Because of a _ring?_" he all but shrieked and Wolfina winced.

"Yes... E-Emilio, I'm so so sorry! I should never have made you get the ring... I'm sorry." she whispered, bowing her head, not looking at her brother. Emilio looked so confused and bewildered. "But, but how? How can a _ring_ send someone into a coma for eight years! I-I'm seventeen now." his voice was small as released his sister and looked down at his hands, so much larger than he remembered, the fingers longer, the palm wider, even his his fingerprints had stretched and were alien to him. The blond choked back a sob as he raised his hands to his face and traced the shape of his lips, nose, his jawline. Everything was different, changed and he didn't quite know what to do with himself.

"Shush, Emi, listen! You're still you! I love you and we're going to get through this!" Wolfina said, quiet determination in her voice as she placed her hands on her brothers shoulders and looked into his eyes. "We'll get through this." she repeated and Emilios eyes welled up with tears as he was pulled back into a tight hug. Elwoods throat felt tight and his eyes itchy as he watched the siblings, he remembered his own wonderful, caring, absent-minded sister and swallowed loudly.

"Um, I'm just going to go, okay?" Wolfina must have heard something in his voice because she looked up with a striken expression. "Oh, Elwood..I.." she looked back down at her brother who was glaring halfheartedly at Elwood as he hugged his sister almost possesively. "It's okay." the black haired teen said with a strained grin as he quickly left the room, almost running down the corridor.

In his haste he failed to see the other person standing in the corridor and would have slammed into her had she not swiftly sidestepped and grabed the back of his collor as he flew by, causing him to stop suddenly and choke as the fabric of his T-shirt constriced his windpipe. "Slow down brat" Nazna snarled as she released his collor with a scowl and Elwood felt the blood drain from his face as he looked up at the irritable woman. Wondering whether this was a good thing or not that he had run into her, almost

literaly, seeing as he had to ask her if he could stay here with Wolfina for a year..

"Um... Miss Nazna, I was wondering if I could... I mean... that is to say..." he felt himself wilting under her glare and was unable to say the rest of his sentance. She placed her hands on her hips and her glare intensified. "You want to know if you can stay with Wolfina and her brother." she stated somehow managing to look both pissed off and bored at the same time with an evil smirk toying about her lips. Elwood gulped and nodded slowly and her smirk grew as she turned and walked away.

"We'll see." she called over her shoulder and Elwood leaned against a nearby wall, relief that she hadn't killed him and annoyance that she hadn't given him a straight answer warring for the dominant emotion.... relief won out in the end and the black haired teen trudged back to his room. His steps echoes eerily down the empty corridor, sound bouncing off the sterile walls and making it seem like there was more than one person walking beside him, something that only brought the reality of his situation into stark relief. Elwood reached up to massage his pounding temples as a headache spread throughout his skull and throbbed painfully with every step. He barely managed to stumble back to his room and collapse onto his bed before an exhaustion that he hadn't known he had took over his limbs and dragged him downwards into sleep.

**A/N:** Please review and let me know what you think. 'Tis only the first chapter and I'm not quite sure whether or not to continue it, I do have a few chapters planned so they may come out faster than some of my other works but I'm a bit undecided on whether I sould just leave it and concentrate on my other stories or not.

x


End file.
